Awkward Silence

Mitsu was not big on traveling.

While he’d taken Sakura to a hot spring in the next prefecture over for her birthday once, and also gone on the occasional business trip to Tokyo to visit cradles of wealthy business moguls, he was content not exploring the world much beyond that. Still, as they made their click-clacking parade through the flower fields, he was left with little choice but to endure.

The wagon hit another bump in the road, and Mitsu winced as a jolt traveled up his spine. He glanced over at Amber, who had a grimace on her face before schooling her expression into something more neutral. At least he wasn’t alone in his discomfort. 

Amber had promised the inn they were heading to wasn’t far off, but as Mitsu looked up at the sky, he noticed the sun had already rolled past midday; it felt like they had made little progress.

With a bit more distraction, or even conversation, it might have been a bit more bearable, but Amber’s attention was mostly focused on steering the horses. Mitsu didn’t want to break her concentration.

And so. Not only was their trip unbearably monotonous, but it seemed like a sense of awkwardness had crept in between them as well.

Mitsu was just about ready to try whistling away his boredom when Amber shifted on the bench they were perched on and cleared her throat. “Say.”

Mitsu perked up, looking over at her expectantly. “Yes?”

She pointed off to the side, and Mitsu noticed a sparkling lake embedded in one of the fields just up ahead. “Do you want to take a break at the lake? I noticed that the bench seems to be bothering you a lot.”

Mitsu blinked in surprise. He hadn’t realized that she’d noticed. “Are you sure? You wanted to get to the inn by tonight, right?”

She waved him off. “It’s fine,” she said. “The horses need a break too.”

“And you don’t?”

Amber was about to respond when they hit a particularly hard bump, and she clenched her eyes shut as she hissed in pain.

After the moment had passed, she cracked open an eye to look at him. Mitsu waited expectantly. “…Okay,” she admitted. “I need a break too.”

Mitsu laughed, and the awkwardness that seemed so insurmountable was kicked away just like that.

                                                                       -----------------

Mitsu gasped as he splashed the cool water of the lake on his face. “Damn, that's cold!"

“It’s still early spring, so the water hasn’t warmed up yet,” Amber explained as she knelt next to him. She cupped the water in her hands and took a deep breath before slapping the water onto her face, cringing at the near-frigid temperature.

Her lips twitched as if attempting a smile. “Refreshing…isn’t it?”

Mitsu laughed as he ran his fingers through his bangs and splashed some water on the back of his neck, the beads of sweat now replaced with cool droplets of water from the lake. “Honestly, if you had tossed me in here earlier, I don’t think you would have had any trouble waking me up.”

Amber brushed her hair back and laughed. “I guess I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

Fatigue sufficiently washed away, Mitsu stood so that he could better admire the lake. The water was crystalline, and the stillness of the lake was constantly being disrupted by jumping fish as if to show off how abundant with life it was. There were also flowers lining the edges of the lake to the very tips of the shore, and the fragrance they gave off was spicy and pleasant. He couldn’t help but think it looked like something straight off a computer screen background it was so perfect in its beauty.

“Does this lake have a name?” Mitsu asked.

Amber stood. “No,” she said. “While the royal family sends people out to survey the land constantly, there are some lakes like this that still haven’t been given names.”

“How many more lakes are there?”

Amber pondered his words for a moment and did some quick math on her fingers. “Three thousand on this continent alone, I think. Out of the four continents, Ferris has the most lakes.”

“Ferris…”

Mitsu wanted to know more, but it seemed like there were more pressing matters as his stomach growled uproariously.

Amber stared at him for a moment, and politely asked, “Are you hungry?”

“…Would you believe me if I said I wasn’t?”

He could tell she was stifling a laugh as she turned and began walking back to their wagon. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s get something to eat.”

Mitsu didn’t need to be told twice.

                          -----------------

Mitsu watched curiously as Amber untied the flaps on the back of the wagon and lifted herself up into the wagon bed. “I’ll just be a minute.”

Mitsu poked his head inside to watch her and was greeted by the sight of rows of wooden crates stacked nearly to the roof, all filled with jars of honey. While Mitsu had noticed the clinking sound of glass colliding, he had no idea what was causing the noise until now.

“That’s a lot of honey,” Mitsu remarked. “Are you planning to sell it?”

“Most of it,” Amber said as she continued to tiptoe her away around the crates. “Though I keep some of it for myself. As the one who collected it, I think it’s fair to say I deserve a cut.”

“You collected all this? How?”

“I’m a beekeeper,” she said. “It’s part of what I do!”

Suddenly, all the bee talk from before was starting to make a little bit more sense. Not much, considering she had also talked about a bee delivering a message to her from a god, but a little bit. Mitsu was about to ask more before he heard Amber yelp as she nearly tripped over one of the crates.

“Are you okay? Do you need help?” Mitsu asked.

“No, I’m fine,” Amber said distractedly. “Just a little bit closer and—!”

Amber gasped in relief as she finally touched a humble chest pushed up against the back wall of the wagon bed. “Finally!”

She rustled through the chest before triumphantly lifting a fabric bag above her head. “Lunch is served!”